The Mad Mind of Lily Evans
by mimblewimble always
Summary: If you've found this then you'll have to understand that I'm not mad. It's just that madness usually comes to me. Let me explain. Dumbledore, bless him, decided that James Potter would be the right bloke for Head Boy. So that means that I'm stuck with the most awful person for my last year at Hogwarts, since I'm Head Girl. If that's not an excuse for madness, I don't know what is.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The wonderful J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter, not me.

There was a boy in my compartment. A boy with a rather ruffled head of dark brown hair, glasses, and blue eyes that were looking down at me.

A boy that made my life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry miserable.

The one and only James Potter.

When I heard the compartment door slide open, I was expecting either Emmeline or Marlene to come bursting through, immediately blurting out a rather exciting summary of their summers. I was expecting the annual tell-me-what-you-did-over-two-months-of-vacation chat, filled with a snack of chocolate frogs and the disgusting Pepper Imps that Emma was absolutely obsessed with.

I was not expecting a view of grey and white sneakers between my legs.

Me, being the incredibly awkward person I am, was in the middle of an intense session of pulling my flaming red hair back into a messy bun. And naturally, the only good way to get a half decent bun is to situate yourself into a squatting position with your head dangling down between your legs and from there, and only from there, begin to pull back and mold your hair into a bun like shape.

When my mind registered the fact that another human being was in the room, I tried to crane my neck from in between my legs to see who this mysterious person was. At first I thought that this guy was one of Marlene's new "friends." After all, it would not be the first time Emmeline and I were stuck trying to make small talk with a complete stranger that Marlene invited to join us on the train. But when I saw the messy hair and glasses, traits that unquestionably belonged to James Potter, I knew I had made a mistake staying in my pre-bun making stance.

My cheeks flamed immediately, an unfortunate trait of mine that has been cursing my existence ever since I was born. I yanked myself out of my upside down position and tried to appear somewhat calm as I messed with my hair to try to make it look presentable.

James looked very uncomfortable and his eyes were practically glued to the floor. For a second, I felt a bit bad for him. I mean, guys don't understand how intense the perfect messy bun process is. Honestly, this whole situation shouldn't be this weird, but I guess finding a frazzled girl staring at you from between her legs would make any bloke feel a bit awkward. I felt like I should either scream or run or do something because of course this kind of situation would only happen to me.

Instead, a half mad laugh slipped out, which I'm afraid made the situation a million times more awkward.

"Erm wrong compartment. Sorry." James mumbled, ruffling his hair.

I cocked my head at him suspiciously. I was surprised that he didn't insult me or tease me or broadcast my embarrassment throughout the rest of the train or something. Normally Potter tries to make my years at Hogwarts living hell, but this was different. It was like he was actually trying to be polite. I made a mental note to stay vigilant for the rest of the night just in case he had something else planned.

"Oh, it's alright." I replied, trying to be somewhat civil.

We both stood in the most uncomfortable silence for a few seconds that seemed to drag on forever. I wasn't sure if I should try to politely deliver the message that the conversation was over or what. I mean, it wasn't as if I could excuse myself and leave my own compartment.

Ugh.

My eyes wandered to a gleaming badge pinned to James' Hogwarts robes that I hadn't noticed before. It was the badge that the Head Boy would wear and it was almost identical to the one I had pinned on my own robes, apart from the title. My eyes widened in shock and I swear the world was against me.

James cleared his throat nervously, and stuck his hands in his pockets (a habit I had grown used to after meeting him when I was eleven.)

"Well, I better go find Sirius and Remus." He ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Err...sorry about this whole thing."

He gave me a half wave, still focused on the apparently so interesting floor, and opened the compartment door.

My mind was still stuck on the fact that he was wearing the Head Boy badge. I couldn't even process what that meant.

"Wait! Potter!" I blurted out, in spite of my mind desperately screaming at me to not even consider the possibility of James being Head Boy.

James turned around, "Lily?" He seemed confused, which was completely valid. I never talk to him unless it's absolutely necessary, let alone start a conversation.

I gesture to the badge pinned on my robe. "Are you...um..."

He quickly glances down as if he was just as surprised to find the pin there as I was. His hands return to his pockets again.

Oh, bugger.

"Oh um…that." James stutters. "I guess Dumbledore thought I might be alright for Head Boy. Sirius and Remus wouldn't stop laughing when I told them."

I stayed silent, wondering why in the name of Merlin's beard Dumbledore would torture me like this.

"I told you Dumbledore was losing it." He gives me a weak laugh, scanning my face nervously for my reaction.

And honestly, what was my reaction? James Potter has been awful to me ever since I met him. He started teasing me in my first few years at Hogwarts and then began occasionally pranking me along with Sirius. And then when I was a third year, he began the endless game of asking me out. I don't understand his logic; why would a girl you relentlessly made fun of want to suddenly date you? And so every time he asked, he got the same sharp rejection.

And to have to work with him, James Potter, who was practically the biggest troublemaker at Hogwarts was absolutely mad.

I love my headmaster to bits and pieces, but Dumbledore, what were you thinking?!

I somehow managed to give Potter a weak laugh/sigh and turned to head back to the window seat in my compartment. I willed myself not to lose my cool about this. I mean sure, the situation isn't exactly ideal, but it's not necessarily Potter's fault. Although, if he didn't happen to be so likable to all of the Hogwarts professors even though all he does is wreak havoc on the school…

I turned to face the window and heard the compartment door slide to a close. Potter must have left. Sighing loudly, now that I could let it out, I pulled out my copy of the latest Daily Prophet and began to catch up on the recent events that occurred in the Wizarding World. Spending the summer with my sister Petunia, who is completely against anything magic related, you can imagine how hard it is to stay involved in the Wizarding community. I picked up the newspaper in Diagon Alley while I was purchasing my school supplies.

Scanning the pages, I saw article after article of stories that involved Voldemort and his followers harming muggles, muggleborns, and pretty much anyone who was against him. As a muggleborn, it was obvious that I was at risk. Over the years, I slowly witnessed Voldemort's power grow. Nobody thought that he and his allies would become this strong. Although I'd like to ignore it, I know I'm no longer safe anymore. News of the deaths of several students' parents and family members had spread around the school last year and I had a feeling that this year was going to be worse.

With a start, I was jerked out of my thoughts by the sound of the compartment door opening. I prayed that life wouldn't be against me again and slowly turned to face the unknown visitor.

Marlene McKinnon and Emmeline Vance stood there, each smiling widely at me.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and rushed over to give them both a hug. I hadn't been able to see them during the summer because my Mum, bless her heart, decided that Petunia and I needed to spend more quality time with each other. I don't think Mum will ever give up on us becoming friends again.

"Lily!" Marlene squealed, squeezing me tightly into a giant hug.

"Marlee!" I let her squish me into a one and only "Marlene hug", which I had been exposed to ever since my first year of Hogwarts.

"I missed you all so much! Spending my entire summer with Tuney was dreadful." I told them as I gave Emmeline a hug.

I pulled back for a good look at Marlene and Emmeline. Marlene looked like the summer did her good. Her blonde hair seemed to be a shade lighter and her nose was splattered with light freckles. Emmeline was as lovely as always, with beautiful wavy brown hair spilling down her back. And as for me…well my carrot colored hair looked just the same as always.

We all settled into the compartment, which basically meant that the floor was scattered with empty chocolate frog boxes and pepper imps (which Emma tried to force feed Marlene and I, but we dodged them.) Marlene and Emmeline told me all about their summers. While we were in the middle of an intense debate over the best food at the Hogwarts feast, a small third year boy slid open the door to our compartment.

"Excuse me. Umm Lily, James asked me to come and tell you that the prefect meeting is in the process of beginning. He wanted to make sure you didn't miss it…" The young boy stammered.

We all froze and stared at one another. The look on Emma's face was an expression of pure sympathy. She understood my hatred for James, and knew that messing up, and being late for my own meeting nonetheless, would be forever humiliating.

Literally. Everyone. In. Hogwarts. Would. Know.

THAT THEIR BLOODY AWFUL HEAD GIRL SCREWED UP.

Ahem.

Marlene's facial expression portrayed amusement with a touch of pity. Of course she would find this funny. Whenever I ranted about James, she always told me that I really didn't know him and that he was actually a decent bloke. But, Marlene had been mates with James for a while now, so I figure that her opinion doesn't really count.

The poor third year messenger stayed frozen in the door way, waiting for an answer.

"Oh! Um err I guess I'll be right there…" I replied, hopping to my feet and leaving the compartment, shooting several help me looks at Emmeline.

Emmeline shrugged her shoulders helplessly and mouthed "good luck" at me. I dunno, I was hoping that maybe she might help me hatch an elaborate escape plan in which we jump off the train and run far away from my embarrassing Head Girl mistake, but you know a simple "good luck" would suffice, I suppose.

On my way to the compartment I was supposed to be in a good FIVE MINUTES AGO, I began to try to give myself a little pep talk. I honestly don't judge anybody who gives themselves a good self-motivating pep talk. Pep talks are not to be looked down upon.

"Oh, get it together Lily. You are a bloody Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake." I mumble under my breath, ignoring the weird look I got from a second year that just happened to be walking by.

I'll just apologize and say I was busy…or I lost track of time. Or something.

Now, I dunno if I was going crazy or something, but it appeared that the at least two minute walk down to the right compartment took about thirty seconds. I had no idea why the world was trying to get back at me so badly today. I mean, everybody knows that you need at least three minutes for a solid pep talk.

I took a deep breath in, lingered at the door as long as it was sociably acceptable to, and entered the compartment. Immediately James caught my eyes and mouthed come here to me. As I made my way over to him, I surveyed the room for any damage I may have done, knowing that I was incredible late. All of the prefects were chattering amongst themselves and none seemed to be angry, so James must have kept them entertained while I snuck in.

"Alright. Hullo everyone. Welcome to your first prefect meeting of the year. I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

A few nervous prefects offered weak laughs.

"I am James Potter and this is Lily Evans." James gestured over at me and I gave a little wave, trying to ignore the heat creeping into my cheeks.

The older prefects that knew James and I hooted.

"Ahh…you'll get her this time, Potter!"

At this point my karma had giving up trying to be somewhat good, and my cheeks turned a repulsing shade of tomato red, yet again.

"Actually he better not—"

James coughed, appearing immensely uncomfortable.

"Well, let's move on. Prefects, the headmaster had asked for you all to step out of your compartments and patrol the corridor every so often, making sure that everyone is safe for the remainder of the train ride." James stated.

"Also, make it your responsibility to look out for our new first years on the way from the Great Hall to the dormitories later tonight. We wouldn't want them getting lost." I chimed in, feeling it was important to actually participate in this meeting at least once.

James and I looked at each other, silently questioning if we had forgot to say anything important.

"Alright. I 'spouse that's all. You can head back now." James said, finally wrapping up the meeting.

We both waited as the prefects stumbled out of the compartment, some complaining about how slow everybody was and others groaning.

Merlin, I hope I wasn't like that.

Before I got a chance to make my own escape, James' blue eyes caught mine and he gave me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about them. They just don't know when to shut up."

"Hmm... That wasn't your attitude a few years ago." I muttered under my breath, making my way out the door.

"Oh, come on Evans! I didn't mean it like that." He called at my retreating figure.

For some reason, his comment made me angry. I was so confused by his sudden change in personality and I wasn't sure if I believed it. I mean, Potter was absolutely awful to me last year. You can't just go around pretending that last year never happened. It's bound to get a girl a bit mad.

"People can change Evans. I thought you would understand that." James said softly, sounding almost sad, before turning the corner and walking the other way with his hands in his pockets.

…

AN: Well if you made it through the chapter to this very section, thank you so much! *claps* If you fancy staying around for the next chapter then you can favorite/follow/comment if you'd like!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The wonderful J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.

I catapulted myself onto my four post bed and its draping red curtains, letting my face sink into the most comfortable mattress ever.

Sighing loudly, I rolled over onto my back.

"Do you all realize that was our last welcome feast ever?" I asked.

"STOP Lillllly! I'm not going to think about that!" Marlene complained, covering her ears like a four year old.

Welcome to the next generation of witches, folks.

Emmeline and I rolled our eyes. "You know, you're going to have to admit that we're leaving this year. It's best to accept it."

"Alright, wise one." Marlene snorted, chucking her pillow at Emma.

"NOOOO YOU WOULDN'T!" Emma screeched, collecting pillows as ammunition for their annual pillow fight.

The last welcome feast in the Great Hall has left most seventh-years sad. It was just like any other feast, except the fact that it was our last year at Hogwarts was finally sinking in. Soon we'd have to face the real world which, to put it bluntly, was terrifying.

"Hey. I think I'm going to go to bed now so that I'm well rested for tomorrow." Alice, a sweet girl who shared a dormitory with us, said.

Emmeline and Marlene froze mid pillow fight and began tossing their pillows back onto their beds.

"That's probably a good idea. I don't want to be falling asleep during our lessons tomorrow." Emmeline stated.

Marlene huffed.

I pulled back the sheets of my bed and crawled in. Snuggling up under my cover, I vowed to myself that (cheesiness be darned) I'd make this year at Hogwarts the best year yet.

...

"Alright class. Listen up, listen up. Quiet down now, we have much to do today." Professor Flitwick squeaked.

I was in Charms class sitting in the middle row as usual. (It was a compromise. I wanted to sit in the front so that I could actually learn and Marlene wanted to be in the back so that she could avoid the uncomfortable professor's glare as she called it. Emmeline suggested the middle row.)

"We're going to start off with a review today. I'd like for everyone to partner up and start off with a simple cheering charm."

Marlene groaned. She hated when Flitwick chose to do partners since she knew someone in our trio was going to have to split up.

The guy sitting next to her immediately took his chance and asked if she'd partner with him. Marlene sent Emmeline and me a panicked look.

"Well, Marlene…I think Lily and I are going to partner up this time." Emmeline told her sweetly, ignore Marlene's devil glare. I'm almost positive that this is revenge from yesterday's pillow fight.

I shrugged at Marlene's pleading look and turned to Emmeline. As much as I loved Charms, the cheering charm was one of the spells I despised the most. A mispronunciation of the incantation could cause the charm to be overdone, and the target could be overwhelmed by laughter, which would be extremely embarrassing and nobody needs that extra stress in their lives.

"Alright, you try not to overdo it and I'll do the same." I said, praying that neither of us would be in helpless fits of laughter anytime soon.

Emma pointed her wand at me and performed the charm successfully. I felt a sudden burst of happiness, but no giggling. Thank Merlin.

I cleared my throat.

"Exhilaro." I said clearly, directing my wand at Emmeline.

As I hoped, the charm wasn't overdone and we both breathed a sigh of relief. I scanned the room looking for Marlene. I saw her, but I also saw her partner doubled over laughing like there was no bloody tomorrow. I reckon she did it on purpose.

"Oh Marlene…" Emmeline said, sounding exasperated, but I could see she was actually rather proud.

Emmeline and I performed the charm a few more times before growing bored. I looked over and found Flitwick flipping through a thick, ancient looking textbook. As much as I love Flitwick, he often gets distracted.

I look around the room at the other students. Many have given up and are spending their time gossiping about different students and lazily completing a quick Cheering Charm every so often to look busy.

A few tables over I watch as James performs a rather enthusiastic charm on Sirius, causing him to laugh SO FREAKING LOUDLY. Honestly, I think part of the reaction was from Sirius's acting skills. That bloke could totally be the next big actor.

James catches me watching him and sends me a sheepish grin, which I send a tiny smiling back too.

Wait, what?

WHAT IN THE NAMES OF MERLIN'S DIRTY BEARD AM I DOING?

Oh no. I quickly look around to see if anyone witnessed the exchange. Everyone seems to be keeping to themselves and nobody is spreading rumors of how I'm going to suddenly marry Potter, so I think I'm good.

I wouldn't want to give Potter the wrong idea.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Emmeline raised her eyebrows at me.

"Um...nothing. I was just looking…at the other groups."

I could practically feel my face my turning into a tomato. From the look on Emmeline's face, she's not buying it. But Emma is too nice to mention my lie (unlike Marlene psh) so after much debating and observing we made this list.

 **Emmeline Vance and Lily Evans' Observations of the Oh-So-Interesting Topic of Cheering Charms**

1\. Marlene and Richard: Marlene is going crazy with her Cheering Charm (seriously, you'd think she's a muggle on black Friday… flailing her wand arm everywhere…HAVE I TAUGHT THE CHILD ANYTHING?) but Richard on the other hand seems to be enjoying having Marlene all to himself…or maybe that's just the Cheering Charm. I dunno.

2\. Alice and Mary: Honestly both of them are pretty decent at the Cheering charm, so there's not much to critic. 10/10.

3\. James and Sirius: (Emmeline told me that I couldn't avoid writing about them any longer.) The idiots are basically just messing around, making complete fools out themselves as always. I don't know how much more laughing Sirius can take before going crazy and being sent off to Azkaban…Oh and Emma told me to add that they both are ok at Charms. I guess. (psh.)

4\. Remus and Peter: Let's start with Peter. He tries, but merlin is he bad at Cheering Charms. Poor Remus is continuously being caught in fits of laughter and the bloke is actually starting to look a bit agitated at this point. AND REMUS IS THE NICE ONE!

5\. Amos and Frank: And for our last pairing…I present to you Amos and Frank! Two people from different houses has got to cause some tension between them. And Amos can be quite a competitive bloke (but good looking). Anyways…it seems that Frank's holding out strong so good for him. An A for effort.

...

After an exhausting day of two more classes (in which I couldn't pay attention due to my growling stomach) I stuffed my face at dinner and snuck down to the library despite Marlene's arguments and concerns.

Normally, other students wouldn't be allowed in the library past ten, but as the bold Gryffindor I am, I sucked up Madame Pince when I was a first year. She practically loves me in her own special way. (Which really means she tolerates me but we're not being picky now.) Anyway, I was searching for some Charms textbook to read through. You know to read… for pleasure. Marlene thought I was absolutely mad to do this, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Psh.

Once I found what I was looking for, I began the long, tedious journey back to the common room. (Okay so I only had to go up two flights of stairs, but I have to admit I was huffing when I reached the portrait hole.)

So let's take a minute to imagine an already sleep deprived Lily clutching her precious Charms books and practically hobbling up the stairs. Her hair is messy (erm..messier than usual) and the most dramatic feature on her face is her dark under eye circles jumping out at you. I think everybody has a point in their day when they absolutely cannot face any human interaction and this was my moment.

Of course, my karma (have I mentioned my horrible relationship with karma yet?) decided that the poor tired me I just described was not yet done with human interaction yet. And so as I was approaching the portrait hole, I saw a silhouette of person standing right near the Fat Lady.

Now I had a few options of what to do next. I could either…

a. Ignore the person entirely and act the "irritable teen" part.

b. Say a simple hello, but continue to keep walking to hide my crazy.

c. Attempt to engage in a short conversation depending if I know the person.

Debating my limited selection of choices, I approached close enough to the portrait hole to notice that the mystery silhouette I saw from a far was actually…Potter. Wait, what was Potter doing hanging out next to the Fat Lady? Was he just casually standing right outside of the common room when curfew was only minutes away, whistling merrily, without a care in the world? Was he waiting to have tea and biscuits with Filch? Was he out there to pass away the time because he JUST COULDN'T STAND THE COZINESS OF THE COMMON ROOM ANY LONGER? I think not.

"Um, Potter? What are you doing standing out here when curfew is only in a few minutes?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows in his direction.

"Oh, I just wanted to get err some uhh quiet before bed." James replied, looking somewhat nervous and ruffling his hair. (A nervous James= A suspicious Lily)

"Okay…Well, you probably should come in now; we don't want to be setting a bad example for anyone in the younger years." I stated. I know this was me being all goody two shoes, but I really wasn't about to let the head boy set a bad example. I mean come on. See? I had a reason.

"You go ahead in. I…have to be somewhere."

By now James had found the floor quite interesting.

"What? But curfew is only in a few minutes! You really can't stay out here!" I sputtered angrily. I shouldn't have to be telling him to follow the rules at our own school. And besides, where could he be going that's so important?

"Lily, I need to be somewhere. Please, just trust me." James said looking exasperated and a slight bit desperate.

"Trust you?" I asked. "What have you done that's ever led me to trust you?"

James opened his mouth to speak then closed it quickly. "Look, I know this doesn't make sense. But please, Lily. I can't tell you what's going on."

By now the few minutes of curfew we had left was ticking by fast. I was torn between figuring out what the heck James was doing and following the rules.

"Please just go in, Lily." James begged, anxiously looking down the corridor.

I sighed angrily, wondering if I was going to get in trouble if James was caught. "Why do always try to ruin everything for me?"

Without waiting for a response, I rushed passed him and mumbled the password to a very sleepy Fat Lady.

Right as the portrait hole was closing, I heard James say one last thing.

"I would never try to ruin anything for you, Lily."

...

I slowly opened up the door to our dormitory, figuring that everyone else was either asleep or getting ready for bed. Emmeline and Alice were already asleep and Marlene was just crawling into bed.

"Hey Lily. Where have you been?" Marlene whispered to me.

"Oh, just Head Girl business. I'll explain it to you later." I replied, making my way to the bathroom so that I could brush my teeth and put on my nightgown.

After changing, I crossed the room to the window. I pulled the curtains shut, covering up the glistening full moon with the velvety material.

...

Author's Note: Hiya! Hope you guys enjoyed that and I'm very sorry that it took so long to go up. Also, thanks so much for the sweet comments; they made my day! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter…

"I honestly don't know why I let him go. I should have put an end to his prank or whatever he was doing." I moaned, after explaining to Emma and Marlene what had happened the night before. We were bustling around our dormitory, getting ready for the day. I pulled on my robes and fastened them at the front.

Emma and Marlene shared a look.

"Well Lily, you don't _really_ know what he actually did. If he pleaded with you as much as you say he did, I'm sure there was a reason behind it." Emma said thoughtfully.

"I second that." Marlene said pulling her silky blonde hair back into a ponytail.

I sighed and decided to drop the subject. I've been complaining about Potter for years, so they're probably sick of my ranting. Frantically shoving books and bits of spare parchment into my bag, I followed Emma and Marlene out of the dormitory and down the staircase. Of course, Emmeline and Marlene were looking just brill this morning because _they_ weren't the ones that stayed up all night worrying about whatever Potter was up too.

We made our way down to the Great Hall (umm...rather slowly much to the disappointment of Emma and Marlene. What can I say? I WAS STILL BLOODY WAKING UP), and passed a group of gossiping seventh-years.

"I know I saw him smile at me yesterday. I know it!" A snobby girl (probably the leader of the pack) insisted.

The girl's friends all rolled their eyes at her. I mean, I don't mean to intrude in their private conversation, but if she saw a bloke smile at her then why not? Although she was part of the Gossiping Girls Group (Emma, Marlene, and I coined it as first-years. I regret the cheesy name choice, believe me.) , she probably wasn't _that_ bad. I believed her, anyways.

"But I just know something was there! The way that James _looked at me_..."

Nevermind. I repeat, NEVERMIND! I never said anything about that girl, nope. Nothing at all.

Practically reading my thoughts, Marlene raised her eyebrows at me suggestively.

Sometimes I just don't know how we are mates.

I plopped down at the Gryffindor table and began spreading globs of cream cheese onto a bagel toasted to perfection. Whilst eating my bagel, I flipped through pages of the Daily Prophet. It seemed that encounters with Death Eaters and Voldemort were getting far worse and more frequent. On top of that more innocent muggles were being killed every day. I flipped the newspaper back to a close and slid it into into my bag, feeling sick.

"You guys ready to go to Herbology?" I asked. Although it isn't my absolute favorite subject (at least it's better than History of Magic) I didn't want to dwell on the thought of Voldemort harming innocent people any longer.

"Yeah sure." Emmeline said absentmindedly. Marlene grabbed a pastry to put in her bag for when she got hungry (which was often.)

Walking out of the massive castle, we began the trek down to the greenhouse. The grass was wet with morning dew and the air was surprisingly crisp.

Now, there's something you should know about Professor Sprout. Although she is friendly and a fairly good professor she's also- how do I put it –extremely _passionate_ about her subject. Some days we'll come into the greenhouse, have a normal lesson, and we'll leave with a pep in our step. (Not really, this is merely a hypothetical example) But other days, Sprout will assign a "super exciting" project that almost always ends with all of us covered in plant soil and questioning our sanity.

Judging by the look on Professor Sprout's face, I'd say she planned a project for today's class. _Fun._

Emma, Marlene, and I exchanged worried glances and all took our seats in the middle of the greenhouse. I dropped my bag on the floor next to me and braced myself for the worst.

"Good morning class! We have a very exciting lesson planned for today! Professor Dumbledore came across a vast amount of Snargaluff seeds while you were all on summer holiday and he's so kindly allowed me permission to use them. Now, I normally wouldn't trust Hogwarts students caring for a plant like the Snargaluff, but for the most part this group of students seems to be mature and I think you all can handle it."

Professor Sprout paused and looked in the direction of the marauders. Sirius waved.

"Alright. So for this project I will be breaking the class up into pairs. For the next month it will be your responsibility to care for your plant and eventually harvest the pods that it contains. For the rest of the class you will be potting the seeds with your partners. I assume you all remember how to do this from last year, yes?" Professor Sprout waved her wand in the direction of the blackboard.

"Okay, the pairs have been listed on the blackboard. You may begin."

The thing about group projects is that you can get stuck with someone completely awful and you're expected not to hex them into oblivion. What is this logic, Professor?

With my palms sweating, I glanced over at the blackboard that would seal my fate for a month. Usually, Professor Sprout is one of those professors that likes doing boy-girl pairings, so working with Emmeline or Marlene is out.

I wouldn't mind working with Remus or some of the other hard-working blokes. I really hope that Professor Sprout decided to pity me and gave me a good partner.

Scanning through the names on the board, I finally found my name. And Potter's…right next to mine.

Cursing silently to myself, my brain started to process what was going to happen. I'm going to have to care for a _freaking_ plant with Potter for a month. Right after we fought yesterday night. Absolutely _spiffing_.

I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

"Errm Lily? Are you ready to start?" Potter said, once again ruffling his hair.

I instantly felt the anger from last night boil up, but I pushed it down and just nodded. No need to lash out in front of the entire class if I can help it. They don't all need to know that I'm border line mad. Psh.

I grabbed a bucket of soil, the seeds that will become our _lovely plant,_ and headed over to where Potter had our pot. We began shoveling soil into the pot in silence. I could tell that Potter was getting uncomfortable, but I wasn't about to start a cheery conversation. (Well, to be honest, I was uncomfortable too, but that's beside the point)

"This is a great first project, isn't it?" Potter said sarcastically, breaking the silence. I knew he was going to give in soon.

"Oh, it's just grand." I said through gritted teeth. I'm trying to keep my side of the conversation extremely minimal. I don't show any mercy for people who decide not to followtherulesasheadboy ahem. I WILL NOT FALL FOR YOUR GAMES POTTER.

The silence resurfaced for a few glorious seconds. Potter furrowed his brow.

"So, Sprout said that we have to come out to the greenhouse to care for the Snargaluff at least three times a week. How do you want to do that?"

Well ladies and gentlemen, he tried again. _Somebody_ give this kid an Oscar because he's actually pretending to care about this project.

"It doesn't really matter to me. Any day after lessons is fine." I said, short and directly to the point. Not too much to say, but not too little. A 10/10 play by Lily Evans.

"Alright…how about Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, after our last lesson?" It still doesn't make sense that he keeps trying to talk to me. Give. Up. Already.

"That's fine." I said, packing more soil into the pot. I pretend as if I'm concentrating really hard to pack the soil tight. Maybe he'll surrender.

"Argh, Lily! Look. I'm sorry you're angry with me, but I _had_ to go out after curfew yesterday. If you'd just-" James started. He looked frustrated, but you know what, _I_ was frustrated too.

"No Potter, you didn't have to! You could have just stayed in the common room like everyone else! You're head boy for merlin's sake!" I huffed, red color rising in my cheeks.

" _Lily_ , I don't know why Dumbledore picked me. I'm sorry you're stuck working with me for your very last year of Hogwarts. You were the obvious pick for head girl- you're smart and hardworking- and I _know_ , believe me, that I don't have the qualities of a head boy. I know you despise me and it's probably _even worse_ for you to have to work on this bloody project with me. But, listen, if I could tell you what I was doing last night, you would understand."

I stared at him, feeling a bit taken back by what he said. This was not the James Potter I'd grown to know and hate. WHO IS THIS PERSON AND WHAT DID THEY DO WITH POTTER?

Looking like an idiot, I quickly opened then closed my mouth, searching for what to say.

The awkwardness of the situation had begun to sink in and James busied himself by angrily digging a hole for the Snargaluff seeds and shoving them in. Judging by the vicious way the seeds were placed in the soil, I'd have to guess that our poor plant wasn't going to do very well.

"Listen…James…I don't _hate_ you." I muttered awkwardly feeling like the guiltiest person on the Earth. I mean, true that he made life hard for me, but I don't _hate, hate_ him… "I just…you haven't made life so great for me have you?"

Now it James' turn to look surprised.

Looking straight at me, he said, "I…never meant to make your life hard, Lily. I'd never try to do that…"

James trailed off, a somewhat bitter and sheepish expression on his face.

"Look, you knew how desperate I was…"

This time I swear to Merlin James has gone mad. What the bloody hell is he even talking about? What did I have that he wanted?

"Desperate forwhat?" I asked, absolutely flummoxed.

James sends me a you-are-totally-insane glance and brushes the situation off with a feebly muttered "never mind."

For the rest of the class period, James and I focused purely on our plant, sticking to "Will you pass me the watering can please?" and "I think next we need to add the plant fertilizer…"

Needless to say, as soon as Professor Sprout told the class to clean up, each of us hurried to sweep up the extra plant soil that didn't make the pot and quickly went back to our separate friend groups.

"Lilllyyy! My partner's horrible! I'm with this Ravenclaw bloke that insists that _every little thing_ we do has to be perfect. It's awful." Marlene complained as we began our walk up to History of Magic.

"Well, at least you're not with Potter." Our conversation from earlier was still replaying in my head and it was really starting to freak me out. WHAT WAS HE TALKING ABOUT!

"Ohh I saw that… I'm sorry Lils. How'd it go?" Emmeline asked sympathetically. She understands that being stuck with Potter was literally the last thing I wanted to happen and, unlike Marlene, she doesn't constantly try to point out that he's "actually not a bad mate" to me. (I'm most definitely _not_ mates with Potter so that opinion _doesn't apply_ )

"Ugh I'll tell you later…how about notes in History of Magic?" I said looking over my shoulder at the other students in my year trailing behind us on their way back to the castle. I wasn't about to risk everyone hearing what just happened when _I_ didn't even know.

"Oooh did something dramatic happen? Did you confess your undying love toward James?" Grinning, Marlene raised her eyebrows suggestively; Emma intentionally bumped into her.

"So _Emma_ , who's your partner?" I said loudly, ignoring Marlene's outrageous previous comment.

"What a _great question_ Lily. I happened to be partnered up with Adam." Emmeline replied equally as loud.

Marlene huffed and turned the corner into Professor Binns classroom.

Passing notes is no easy feat. It takes skill and mass preplanning to successfully have a conversation through said note passing. Needless to say, it took me a while to master the skill. I remember the unfortunate incident back in First Year when Professor Binns just _happened_ to take a break in his droning to look at his class and caught me passing a note to Marlene. As a wee little First Year, it was a rather traumatic and embarrassing moment.

The first step in becoming a successful note-passer is to feign innocence. You have to wait at least ten minutes into the lessons before starting your note-passing facades. You have to _convince_ your Professor that _of course you'll be paying attention and that you have no intention whatsoever to cause trouble._

Then comes the note taking act. Instead of hiding the spare piece of parchment that you'll be using to pass notes, pretend that you are immersed in the task of writing brilliant notes and don't bother acting sneaky. Again, this task should be done in a lengthy amount of time to stop from arousing suspicion.

Then comes the sly passing of the note underneath the desk. This took a bit of sneaky mastery and I'm proud to say Emmeline, Marlene, and I have finally gotten the hang of it.

Emmeline: Ok so what actually happened in Herbology with Potter?

Me: It was the weirdest thing. I tried ignoring the bloke at first…because of yesterday, you know? But then he brought up yesterday night and, _of course_ , I got angry. And THEN, he went on this crazy long rant about how he's sorry that I'm stuck with him and how he knows that I hate him. Naturally, I told him I really didn't hate him, but I said that he didn't make my life a bunch of rainbows and unicorns. And then he started talking about how "he'd never mean to make my life hard." What in Merlin's name is going on?

Marlene: Lily, why doesn't Emma tell you what's going on?

(I noticed that Marlene had a very smug look on her face as she passed this to Emmeline)

Emmeline: Oh, Lily. I don't think that James ever wanted to hurt you. He was trying to impress, I suppose. I mean…he fancied you quite a bit a few years ago.

Me: You all don't believe that rubbish do you? That was just a rumor back in fourth year. Last time I checked, fighting and insulting isn't the way to a girl's heart.

Marlene: Yes, well James is not a normal bloke.

Emmeline: He really didn't mean to make your life miserable, Lily. He's changed, you know.

Me: You guys are mad. I refuse to pass notes with my delusional mates.

And with that, I turned my undivided attention towards Binns and his lesson. (Adding in an elegant hair flip that I deemed necessary)

Emma and Marlene must be out of their minds. I refuse to believe that Potter fancied me. I refuse.

…..

A/N: I'm a complete procrastinator, I know. I had immense difficulty figuring out where I wanted the plot to go. (ooh I'm rhyming!) Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait (even though it probably won't) and I hope you enjoy! Have a lovely day!


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